Red Paddle Co have been making inflatable SUP since 2008 and have always believed riding an inflatable shouldn’t mean compromise on performance, design or quality. What makes Red Paddle Co unique is that they are not just adding inflatable boards to a range of hard boards – they only make inflatable paddleboards. Red Paddle Co have always placed huge importance on utilizing the best construction techniques in order to produce boards that perform and last. For 2016, the way Red Paddle Co paddleboards are manufactured has changed significantly, making them stronger, stiffer and on average per paddleboard 2kg lighter.
Read on to learn what makes Red Paddle Co inflatable paddleboards so special.
Red Paddle Co Drop-stitch
Drop Stitched Polyester when done right, is a pretty amazing material. The process starts by joining two pieces of polyester woven support fabric with thousands of fine polyester thread lengths. This base material is made in strips from five to ten feet in width, and up to 400 needle heads may be used in the setup. Each needle sews a continuous, evenly spaced thread, back and forth between the two pieces of woven fabric, locking them together into an incredibly strong unit. As the paddleboard is inflated, the two pieces of fabric part and the threads are pulled tight, giving the inflatable SUP its shape. While drop stitched fabric is common among all inflatable SUP's, it is the quality materials of used and use of a non-linear drop stitch that provide the foundation for quality paddleboards. As a result, Red Paddle Co only use specially produced, non-linear, high density drop stitched polyester that makes for a stiffer and stronger paddleboard core.
Red Paddle Co MSL
First introduced in 2016, Red Paddle Co's MSL Fusion involves fusing a second layer of hard-wearing polymer to the drop stitch core at the raw material stage, removing and gluing errors. This high tech industrial gluing process also saves almost 2kg in weight and makes the paddleboards stiffer at lower pressures.
Red Paddle Co Rails
Often the rail (edge / sides) can be the weakest point on an inflatable paddleboard. As the rail where all layers meet and it’s where air pressure loading is at it’s highest. Red Paddle Co boards have 3 layers of taping on the rails making them possibly the strongest inflatable paddleboards available. Red Paddle Co's 3 layer rail almost completely removes the risk of puncture or material failure, allowing you to use your inflatable SUP with total confidence. While we don't recommend it, Red Paddle Co say you could completely remove the outer rail tapes and the paddleboard would still be usable.
Red Paddle Co Rocker
Rocker is the bottom curve of the board from the nose to the tail. It is the curvature of the paddleboard from the side angle. Rocker design is critical to how a paddleboard performs. Red Paddle Co build rocker into their paddleboards that give the board an authentic feel when paddled. While some other brands have up turned noses and tail which are not functional or effective in promoting glide and control. Red Paddle Co rockers are progressive. This means the rocker curve starts well back on the board and slowly increases as it reaches the nose. This progressive rocker is one of the key ingredients to the authentic feel of a Red Paddle Co inflatable SUP.
Red Paddle Co's patented RSS (Rocker Stiffening System) is another way they control the rocker of the paddeboards. You can learn more about the RSS system here.
Red Paddle Co Rocker Stiffening System
Unique to Red Paddle Co – The Rocker Stiffening System (RSS) was designed and patented to make some of the smaller and more performance orientated Red Paddle Co boards even stiffer. Paddleboards that feature RSS come with two stiffening battens which can be slotted into pockets that are individually laminated onto the side of the board (ensuring a perfect fit). The effect of RSS depends on the overall thickness of the Red Paddle Co SUP. In a 4" thick SUP such as The Whip, 9'8 Ride and 11' Sport it has been proven to make the board up to 45% stiffer. In 6" thick boards including the 12'6 Sport, Elite Race, 12'6 Voyager and 13'2 Voyager the paddleboard is up to 10% stiffer with RSS. In the 5" thick boards in the Red Paddle Co Ride range and those that do not come with RSS, it has been deemed that the advantages would be minimal, so RSS has not been added
Red Paddle Co Fins
The majority of Red Paddle Co SUPs come with built-in fins called the 'iFin system'. These fins are moulded to be ultra-durable and easy to pack away for transport. There is no need for any tools, replacements or spares with the Red Paddle Co iFin system. Even if the fins were to get bent out of shape, they can be reshaped by simply pouring hot water over them. The Red Paddle Co iFin system has been tested and proven over a number of years, giving superb performance and class leading durability.
The Red Paddle Co WindSUP, The Whip, Sport, Explorer, Race and Elite boards all use the removable US Fin Box system. Red Paddle Co boxes are moulded in hard-wearing plastic and they use several types of fin, depending on the board. These fins are attached using a simple nut and bolt system that just needs to be finger-tight (no tools required). The durable fin box is engineered to deflect blows from rocks, so you get consistently high performance and durability in a single package.
Red Paddle Co Titan Pump
Red Paddle Co SUP's come supplied with the Red Paddle Co Titan Pump as standard (except The Whip which comes with the Red Paddle Co HP Pump). The real innovation in The Titan Pump is it's Dual-Chamber system and Hi-Flo handle, which pump air into inflatable paddleboards at up to 60mph, meaning they inflate to the recommended pressure level of between 15-20psi quicker than ever before, while using less energy. Which means less pumping and more paddling.
Red Paddle Co Bag System
Traveling with an inflatable SUP makes it easy to explore your world. All Red Paddle Co SUPs come with the Red Paddle Co bag system that was designed to make transporting and storing your SUP as easy and comfortable as possible.
